A smooth talking Southerner, Stuart — clad in all black like his musical hero Johnny Cash — hooted and howled through his hard charging set that included the standout song "The Whiskey 'Aint Working Any More."

Bringing his wife, silky-voiced Connie Smith, onstage, Stuart told a story about how he was 12 when he first saw Smith perform. He wore yellow to the show so she'd notice him and predicted his future.

"I told my mama 'when I grow up I'm going to marry Connie Smith.' It took me 25 years but I did it."

When he sang "Country Music's Got a Hold on Me," he was speaking for all of the 55,000 people at Stagecoach Saturday.